"Dick's the kind of guy who would have been great to have around to mentor people … He looked for the common sense solution, as opposed to the bureaucratic one," Swenson, leader of the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservatives, said of the late Richard Collver on Monday. "That's all people look for today — they look for common sense. He had a lot of that."

Collver, formerly a leader of the Progessive Conservatives and of the opposition in the 1970s, built the party up during his time at its helm, said Swenson.

"Dick came along with some new ideas, and young people sort of gravitated toward him. He had a way of saying and presenting things that was unique … and a work ethic that just never quit," he said.

Swenson was privileged, he said, to witness that ethic first hand.

As a youth delegate to the Progressive Conservative convention in which Collver was elected leader, and then as a young Saskatchewanian involved in politics himself.

"I learned a pile of politics from Dick Collver," said Swenson. "I still ask myself, when a political conundrum comes up, 'How would Dick handle this?'

"He did things differently. Sometimes he was out there on the edge and you had to hang onto your hat, but he had a sense of what was wrong," he added.

Swenson said the loss of Collver, who died Aug. 7, would be felt by all Progressive Conservatives.

"It's sad he isn't among us, because I'm sure there are thousands of Saskatchewan people with very fond memories of him and I'm sure they'd love to publicly show him the gratitude and respect he deserves," said Swenson. "I'm sure you would have seen people from every corner of this province show up to show him their respect."